Stress

ARTICLES ABOUT STRESS BY DATE - PAGE 2

Just in time for the holidays, your low-wage employer wants you to know it really cares. And would you mind tidying up the condiment stand on your way to the soup kitchen? Once again, McDonald's is showing its brilliance at employee relations. In July, recall, the company haplessly offered a sample budget for its employees, omitting the costs of gas and groceries and projecting fantasy monthly rents of $600, car payments of $150 and health-insurance costs of $20. Now the company has favored the working poor with advice on stress relief, savings and health.

UCF's plane ride home from Philadelphia was not the boisterous trip one might expect on the heels of a thrilling victory. There were no major celebrations even after a highlight-reel plays fueled a 39-36 win over Temple. Not after nearly squandering the best start to a season in program history. "It was very quiet," Knights' coach George O'Leary said. "They know. They know they came that close to not doing what they wanted to get done up there. I think it's great when you don't have to tell them that.

UCF learned once already this season that records don't mean anything - especially on the road in conference play. The 17th-ranked Knights needed a fourth-quarter rally to earn a come-from-behind win in Memphis on Oct. 5. They will look to avoid such a scare on Saturday when they play at Temple (1-8, 0-5 American Athletic Conference). Kickoff is set for noon and the game will air in the Orlando area on WKCF-Channel 18. The advantages fall in favor of UCF (7-1, 4-0) almost across the board in a matchup between the American Athletic Conference's first- and last-place teams.

The crime seems relatively minuscule: holding the football low and on your hip. With the nation's top takeaway team coming to Bright House Networks Stadium on Saturday night, however, UCF coach George O'Leary has instituted tougher sanctions for carelessness with ball protection during practice this week. The punishment during the next few days is a steep one: two minutes of up-downs. During the drill, players must move their feet rapidly in place, drop and hit the ground and then spring back up while still moving their feet.

Stuckey Mosley's senior year could have been one fraught with frustration, stress and just plain confusion. As a two-sport star at Orlando Timber Creek High School, Mosley had a decision to make entering his senior year. It was highly unlikely he would have been comfortable enough with an opportunity to play both football and basketball at the next level. For most two-sport stars, regardless of talent, there is almost always one sport pulling the athlete from the other. Sure, there are exceptions.

As classes start across the region and the promise of academic stress builds, more students are looking for something stronger than caffeine to keep them alert and focused. They are turning to stimulants intended to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Academic doping, as the trend is known, has surged in the past two years, and the abuse potential has spiked among students, according to Frank Granett, author of "Over Medicating Our Youth. " A recent study from the National Institutes of Health found that more than a third of college undergraduates reported illicit use of stimulants intended to treat ADHD.

I'm entertained by restaurant and cooking shows. I like to watch "Kitchen Nightmares," "Hell's Kitchen" and "Top Chef. " Even with the dramatic mishaps on these shows, I find them interesting to watch because cooking isn't always what it's chopped up to be. And some tasks are not always as easy as some celebrity chefs make them look. Sometimes I take comfort in the fact that the pros make mistakes too. Now let's see what our shoppers have found this week: Found Susan says Mrs. Fannings Bread & Butter pickles can be purchased at the Publix Super Market on Orange Avenue near Michigan Street.

With Father 's Day coming up Sunday, dad-centered gift promotions are coming on strong. Peruse the pages of any periodical or newsprint and you'll see ads for everything from casual clothing and camping gear to grilling accessories, techno-gadgets and sports paraphernalia. Advertisers are trying hard to convince us that the latest this or hottest that is the perfect way to tell Dad he's special. In our family, Dad (better known as "Papa") is a marketer's nightmare. On a scale of 1 to 10, his desire for store-bought gifts registers around minus 15. Madonna may have sung about Material Girl, but my husband is the proverbial Non-Material Man. That said, there is one gift my dear husband would like.

Running off at the typewriter. … Sentinel reporter Paul Tenorio recently asked new USF coach Willie Taggart how much emphasis he will place on the game with UCF this season now that the two programs are in the same conference and will renew their rivalry this year. Replied Taggart: "Whether it's UCF or Michigan State or McNeese State. We want to beat them all. To be honest with you, I don't know much about that rivalry. It's not one of those rivalries that you've seen on TV a lot, that you hear about.

I'm ticked off that some people don't have 20 seconds to stop, listen, read, think, or communicate. Everything instantaneous makes a rude rat race out of all of us, including nervous children and drivers. I'm ticked off with young folks soliciting at major intersections for money. If they want support for the band or sports teams then have a fundraiser. We taxpayers already fund your education; for the extras, get out there and work for it! To the driver of the SUV in the grocery parking lot who forced the parking car to back up so you could make an illegal exit from your space: We and many others witnessed your bullying and your passenger's shouted obscenities at the other driver.